Lydia's Choice
by lexiphillips
Summary: Jennifer didn't take her eyes off Lydia. "You heard me. Which one will you save, Lydia? They're both useless anyway. One is just a spastic kid and the other practically has his own replica. Neither will be missed. So who will you save?" Prompt requested by an anonymous Tumblr user.


"Ethan, Aiden, Scott. You're really not going to tell me anything?" The three just glared. "Fine, then. But I'm trying to help you, you know."

"How are you trying to help us?" Aiden spat out.

Jennifer Blake turned to Aiden then, her face going back to one that said _I'm one of the good guys_. "Deucalion is a killer. He won't stop until he gets what he wants."

Isaac spoke up. "How does that make you any different from him? Exactly how many people have you killed in this town?"

"Mine were for sacrifice. His were for power."

"Still killings." Allison didn't want to hear this woman trying to justify her actions. Killing innocent people was wrong, it's what she had been taught her whole life. It didn't matter what it was for.

The darach stopped speaking. Stiles could see annoyance in her eyes, though she tried to hide it with a sly smile. Suddenly the smile dropped, and she seemed to think for a moment.

"You all look so _bored_. Perhaps we should make this a little more interesting." A wicked smile crossed the woman's face as she walked the small room slowly, looking at each of them in turn.

Not more than two hours ago, Scott, Stiles, Allison, Lydia, Isaac, and the twins had found themselves trapped in a dark room, bound and scared. Scared, mostly because they didn't want to even try escaping without knowing the full extent of this woman's power. So for two hours they sat while Jennifer interrogated them about Deucalion and his plans. Why Lydia, Allison, Stiles and Isaac were there, they didn't know.

"I really don't think that's necessary," Stiles spat out.

"_Stiles_," Lydia scorned in a hushed voice. He shouldn't be provoking her.

"What? I mean, you've kept us here for like, two hours already. This wasn't exactly on the top of my list of things to do today," Stiles continued, irritated.

"Well we don't always get what we want, do we Stiles? You stay here until I let you leave." Jennifer gave him a smile, raising her eyebrows.

Stiles groaned, and Lydia gave him a _stop talking_ look. He returned it with a hushed "_Fine_."

Something sparked in Jennifer's eyes then; an idea. "Hmmm," she drawled. "What if we played a little game?" Her gaze rested on Lydia, who looked back, confused and frightened.

Aiden suddenly spoke up, annoyed. "What _game_?" Jennifer's smile widened.

"Lydia, I hear you've been having some fun with a certain little alpha," she said, glancing at Aiden.

"Okay? And?" Lydia's voice shook.

"I also noticed a little _tension_ between you and Stilinski."

Lydia looked to Stiles before responding. "I don't know what you're talking about." _What tension? It's not like their kiss had meant anything_.

"Then I doubt you'll have any trouble making your decision."

Lydia's heart sped up. "_What_ decision?"

"Which one should I kill?" the darach responded, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"_What?_" Allison cried out from across the room.

Jennifer didn't take her eyes off Lydia. "You heard me. Which one will you save, Lydia? They're both useless anyway. One is just a spastic kid and the other practically has his own replica. Neither will be missed. So who will you save?"

Both boys looked at her desperately. _Of course she'll choose Aiden_, Stiles thought. _I have nothing to offer her_.

Lydia stared at each boy in turn, on the verge of tears, before answering. "Stiles."

"_What?_" both boys said in unison, Stiles with disbelief; Aiden with fear.

"I choose Stiles," the strawberry blonde repeated, her voice stronger with determination.

"Then it's done," Jennifer said, crossing to Aiden, a syringe suddenly in hand.

"No!" Ethan shouted.

"What is that?" Lydia questioned, a look of bewilderment and confusion on her face.

"It's wolfsbane," Scott answered. His voice shook with memories of Allison's mother.

"You've made your bed, Lydia." Jennifer positioned the syringe over the vein in Aiden's neck.

"Lydia, don't let her do this," Aiden pleaded.

"Now lie in it," the woman continued before plunging the needle into the boy's flesh.

Lydia shut her eyes tight, not wanting to watch. _He didn't deserve this_, she thought over and over again, tears running down her face. She opened her eyes a moment later to see Ethan shouting at his lifeless brother in a useless attempt to undo what had already been done. Everyone else was shocked silent.

"Well," the darach said after a moment, setting the syringe down on a nearby table. "I doubt I'll be getting anything more out of any of you. You're free to leave once you've escaped your bindings." With that, she walked out of the room.

The teenagers shared glances with each other, shocked at what had just happened, until Isaac spoke up. "She's gone. We can leave." He began to undo his bindings.

Scott followed, and then the two helped out Lydia, Stiles, and Allison. After it was finished, they all looked down at Ethan, who was still sitting and staring at his brother.

"Ethan," Lydia said softly. "There's nothing you can do." She felt terrible.

"You did this!" Ethan shouted at the girl, tearing out of his bindings. "You killed my brother!"

Lydia could feel the pain of his hatred like needles pricking at her heart. "I'm so sorry." And she meant it.

Ethan didn't say anything back to her, only lifted up his brother's body and walked out.

"We should leave in case Ms. Blake decides to come back," Scott said as they all stared after Ethan.

"You're right. Let's go home," Isaac agreed, running a hand through his curls. He was exhausted, as they all were.

Stiles couldn't sleep. His mind was plagued with thoughts and questions from that day, questions he didn't know the answers to. What did Jennifer want from them? She hadn't gotten any information out of them, and after she'd killed Aiden, she just let them go. Did she just want to show them just how dangerous she was? They already knew. And why, _why_ did Lydia choose him? Jennifer said it herself: he was just some spastic kid. Aiden was an alpha werewolf, one she was certainly _close_ with. _So why me? _He couldn't stand not knowing. Taking a deep breath, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Stiles, it's late and I'm exhausted. What do you want?" Lydia groaned after picking up.

"We need to talk," Stiles replied, determined to get an answer.

"Okay, so talk."

Stiles shook his head. "No, we need to talk in person. I need answers. Can you come over? Please?" He ran a hand over his face. He was tired as well, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he got through this.

"Can't we do this tomorrow?" He could hear the exasperation in her voice.

"I really need it to be tonight. Please come over," he pleaded.

Lydia sighed. "_Fine_, I'll be over soon."

"_Stiles_. Do you really think I want to talk about this right now?" Lydia asked him, annoyed.

"I just need to know. Why did you choose me? Aiden would have been more useful to you than I'll ever be!"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "What makes you think that?"

"He's an alpha. He's stronger, faster, _better_ than me. Plus, I know you liked him Lydia." It hurt a little, but Stiles was used to being the one she didn't want.

"Aiden was a distraction. After Jackson, do you really think I was ready to be in a relationship again?"

Stiles huffed out a sigh. "Yeah? So what do I have to offer?"

Lydia looked at him a moment before tossing her hair and rolling her eyes again. "Well, you're smart, and you're a good friend, and you've helped us so many times, and—"

"Lydia, I know those are just excuses," he interrupted. "Just tell me."

"But—"

"Lydia, _please_."

"Fine, Stiles! I saved you because... because you mean so much to me. Because when I was the popular girl, you were the only one who saw how smart I was. You were the only one who saw that I was just hiding, and you've helped me to become a better person. To be able to help people." Lydia shut her eyes for a moment, smiling a little. "And I like you Stiles. I never thought it would happen, but I like you." She finally looked into the other boy's eyes.

"Wha—" Stiles was at a loss for words.

"Is that a good enough answer for you?" Lydia asked softly.

"Yeah, of course. But... I just..." He didn't know what to say.

Lydia ran a hand through her strawberry blonde strands and looked away from the astonishment on Stiles' face, her own face turning red. "I need to go home."

"Uh, what? Oh. Sure. Yeah." Stiles stood up to show her to the door. "And thank you. For today."

"You're welcome, Stiles," she replied, smiling as she followed him. Once they reached the door, Lydia put a hand on Stiles' arm to stop him, looking in his eyes.

"Was there something—" Stiles began, before being cut off by Lydia's lips pressed to his own in a quick kiss.

"Goodnight, Stiles," Lydia said, stepping through the door.

The boy was speechless for a moment before whispering, "Goodnight, Lydia."


End file.
